Means for preventing soiling of knitted fabrics during the knitting operation



1955 s. F. CHIODINE ETAL MEANS FOR PREVENTING SOILING OF KNITTED FABRICSDURING THE KNITTING OPERATION Filed Nov. 1952 III lNVE/VTORS SAMUEL FCH/OD/NE By JOHN B LAWSON MJM g United States Patent MEANS FORPREVENTING SOILING OF KNITTED FABRICS DURING THE KNITTING OPERATIONSamuel F. Chiodine, Providence, and John B. Lawson, Pawtucket, R. I.,assignors to Lawson Products, Inc., Pawtucket, R. I., a corporation ofRhode Island Application November 4, 1952, Serial No. 318,556

15 Claims. (Cl. 66--19) The soiling of knitted fabrics during theknitting operation by dirt and by the lubricant necessarily employed onthe needle beds in all types of knitting machines, has been a veryserious cause of loss, producing seconds and even rejects. The object ofthe present invention is to eliminate the possibility of soiling thefabric by reason of dirt and the lubricating oil that is in practiceinvariably used on or applied to the needle beds and which works its wayalong, or in the knitting operation is moved along the needles to theverge of the needle carrier where the stitch is being formed.

The invention may be practiced in any type of knitting machine havingindependent needles, whether they be of the latch type or bearded needletype, and whether the machine be flat or circular and if circular,whether it be provided with a dial or be without a dial.

In the herein disclosed embodiment or example of the invention, we haverepresented in the drawing and will describe in the specification acircular, independent, latch needle machine provided with a dial anddial needles therein, but, as stated, our invention isnot limited to anyone type of independent needle knitting machine but is of very generalapplication.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a vertical cross section of a part of the needle cylinder anda part of the needle dial of an independent latch needle knittingmachine;

Figs. 2 and 3 represent in side elevation a cylinder knitting needle intwo different positions in its groove, such needle being of usual type;

Figs. 4 and 5 represent in side elevation our novel dial needle in twodifferent positions in its needle groove; and

Fig. 6 represents by way of contrast the usual construction of dialneedle.

It is to be understood that while we have shown our improved needle as adial needle, the same improvement may be applied also to cylinderneedles.

Referring more particularly to the drawing and first to Fig. l, aportion of a needle dial of a rib body knitting machine is representedin vertical cross section at 1, extending from the verge nearly to theaxial center thereof. The needle cylinder of the machine is representedat 2. The said cylinder is provided with an encircling needle bed 3 andan encircling verge 4.

At 5 in Figs. 2 and 3 is represented the needle which is of the usuallatch type, but it may be a bearded needle that is slidable in a needlegroove. The latch needle 5 here shown slides vertically in the needlecylinder 2, being guided by the walls which are cut or set into theneedle cylinder 2. The butt 7 of said needle 5 projects from the needlebed 3 and is moved by appropriate camming, not shown, from its lowstitch level, as shown at A (Fig. 2), to a high clearing level as shownat B (Fig. 3). The said needle 5 may be of the same novel constructionherein shown as applied to a dial needle, and which will be subsequentlydescribed herein with reference to Figs. 4 and 5.

Heretofore, little or no attention has been applied to the distanceseparating the verge 4 and the needle bed 2,723,543 Patented Nov. 15,1955 3, with the consequence that the needle bed is defined as by thedotted lines 7' and 8 in Fig. 1, with a consequent shortening of theneedle cylinder to the dotted line' 12.

A comparatively narrow groove 10 shown in Fig. 1 has been customarilyturned around the needle cylinder such as in the well-known Scott andWilliams machines, said grooves being turned or formed slightly inexcess of and inward beyond the bottom of the needle grooves 11, therebyto prevent the needle 5 acting as a pump or agent to force lubricatingoil from the needle bed 3 into the verge 4, by thus breaking thecontinuity of the surface on which the cylinder needles ride.

We have realized or discovered in the operationof knitting machines,that soiling of the fabric being knitted is caused by something inaddition to any oil that might be pumped from the needle bed into theverge, and after painstaking investigation and study, we have finallydetermined that the soiling of the fabric is actually caused by theneedle carrying lubricating oil and even dirt from the needle bed to theverge, and then spreading such oil and dirt brought to the verge throughthe length of the needle, until finally the oil and dirt get onto thefabric being knitted.

We have succeeded in remedying this serious defect by a furtherseparating of the needle bed and the verge to such an extent that thepart of the cylinder needle, as between the lines 12 and 13 indicatedupon the cylinder needle 5 shown in Fig. 2, enters in the knittingoperation neither the needle bed 3 nor the verge 4. In such case theusual needle presser 14 that holds the needle back as it enters behindthe yarn guide, and the spring band 15, rests on that part of the needlethat is restricted to the verge, so as to prevent dirt and oil from theneedle bed working up onto these parts.

In addition, the needle itself is or may be made with an elevated oroifset portion, such as is subsequently herein .described with respectto the dial needles, but which novel construction may be employed incylinder needles.

Essentially the same problem of the soiling of the fabric that is beingknitted is also encountered in the needle dials of rib knitting machinesand the dial needles thereof, as in the needle cylinder. However, in thedial, separation of the verge 16 thereof and the needle bed 17 thereof,with consequent lengthening of the distance between the needle butt 18and the hooks 20 of the said needles, causes complications in the dialknitting cams that move the dial needles by acting upon their butts,since the dial is necessarily in the form of a disk, and therefore thegreater the distance between the needle butt 18 and the hook 20 of adial needle, as shown in Fig. 6, the more crowded the cams necessarilybecome. Also the angles on the dial cams must be increased if Referringnow to Figs. 4 and 5, wherein the novel construction of needle is showappliedto a dial needle, the front shank 21 of such needle is elevatedor reversely bent outward and again inward at sufiiciently spaced pointsto present the portion 21 parallel to but positioned slightly furtheroutward so as to ride over the top of the verge 16. Moreover, the stem22 of the needle, just to the rear of the latch of such needle is madeshorter than usual so that when the needle is moved out to latchclearing position, as in Fig. 4, the back face of such shorter portionof the needle just to the rear of the latch, will rest near to edge ofthe verge but never beyond the verge edge.

the head of the d1al needle is to move at the same angle in itsoperation.

The needle bed 17 of the dial is separated from the verge 16, and theamount of such separation is so related to the dimensions of the dialneedle that the butt 18 of such novel dial needle will not move outbeyond the edge of the needle bed 17, and the stem 22 of such dialneedle will not enter the needle bed 17.

The new form of needle does not require the usual needle presser camscustomarily used with the usual type of dial needle, and which we haverepresented in Fig. 6 and wherein the butt of the needle is alsorepresented at 18 and its hook at 20. Desirably the portion of theneedle back of the butt 18 is bent back upon itself as shown at 19.

With the new construction of needle, particularly when used in the dial,the needle operating cams prevent the needles being raised by theknitted fabric due to the friction between the stitches and the cylinderneedles as the latter rise. Moreover, with the novel needle of ourinvention the normal dial cams act to hold the needles down, in place ofthe presser cams. Furthermore, difficulty with dirt getting under theneedle and raising it, and thereby causing the needles to draw longerstitches, is avoided, because of the fact that the stem 22, as shown inFigs. 4 and 5, never enters the needle bed 17 indicated in Fig. 1.

Inasmuch as the shank 21 of the novel needle shown in Figs. 4 and 5rides above the verge 16 and does not enter it, the needle shank cannotcarry dirt from the needle bed 17 to the verge 16. Yet this veryconstruction makes possible less separation between the verge and theneedle bed of the dial, particularly, and consequent shortening of theneedle so that the needle cams do not have to be moved so far back,while still obtaining the advantage of preventing the needle carryinglubricant from the needle bed 17 to the verge 16, with consequentdirtying of the fabric.

As already stated, our invention includes the use of the dial needleconstruction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, for cylinder needles, and thus toavoid lengthening of the needle cylinder.

The space separating the verge 16 of the dial from the needle bed 17 isrepresented at 23 in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, and it is of greater depth thanthe needle bed 17, as in the case of the needle cylinder, as alreadydescribed.

While our invention is not limited to the precise definitions specified,we state that in order effectively to carry out the object of ourinvention, the edge of the needle bed where the dial or cylinder needlebutts ride must be separated from the edge of the cylinder or dial by atleast the amount of the needle travel from stitch drawing point to clearpoint, plus at least one sixteenth of an inch when a special needle suchas shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is used. If a straight needle is employed, asshown in the other figures of the drawing, then the separating groove10, shown in Fig. 1, must be at least as wide as the distance the needletravels, plus the amount of room taken up by the spring band or by theneedle presser.

In certain of the claims, we specifiy that the needle carrier hasside-by-side needle receiving grooves. This term side-by-side isemployed in a generic sense and does not mean that the grooves areabsolutely parallel with each other. In the dial the needles, while.side-byside in a generic sense, are generally on radially extendinglines, but in many machines such as Scott and Williams machines, thedial slots are slightly off the radial line, to secure better cammingaction.

In Figs. 5 and 6 we have represented at 18 a portion of the dial cap,and at 18" in Fig. 6 a presser cam previously referred to as employed inthe ordinary construction, the necessity for which has been eliminatedin our herein disclosed construction, as stated in a slightly precedingportion of this specification.

We have shown at 24 in Fig. 5 an air pipe that is connected to asuitable supply of compressed air or air under pressure, and the courseof the discharged air is indicated by the arrows in Fig. 5. The reasonfor the use .of air in the present invention is as follows:

In order to obtain the full benefit of the invention on the dial it isnecessary to prevent yarn lint and rubber powder, (the latter whererubber is used), from accumulating on the needles and in the separatingspace 23 between the verge 16 and the needle bed 17 of the dial andacting as a wick for transmitting oil from one position to the other.

The lint and rubber powder can be and are eliminated in our improvedmechanism by blowing air against a bafiie, which desirably is the dialcap itself, so that the air will be directed down into the space 23, andfrom thence rebound upwardly and a little outwardly to lift theaccumulation from the needles, and from the space 23, and deposit itharmlessly on the outside of the machine. Air is controlled so as toblow for at least one complete revolution at the end of each garment sothat no appreciable accumulation can collect before it is removed. Theair pipe for this purpose is shown at 24 in Fig. 5. It is connected toany suitable source of air under pressure.

The reason for directing air in this manner instead of, for example,along the needle and outward, is to prevent the vacuum that followsbehind an air blast from pulling oil from the needle bed 17 out into theair stream and thence onto the needles and into the verge.

We have, in one embodiment of the invention, positioned the air blastjust following the dial knitting point at one feed only on the machine.This circumferential position is not regarded as critical, and ourinvention is in no wise limited thereto.

While the use of air for the purpose stated is not a necessity on thecylinder needles, due to the vertical position of the cylinder, it isregarded by us as desirable.

We state explicitly that better lubrication is obtained by the use ofthe herein disclosed invention.

Having thus described one illustrative embodiment of the invention, itis to be understood that although specific terms are employed, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the followingclaims.

We claim:

1. In an independent-needle knitting machine, a grooved needle bed, agrooved verge spaced from the needle bed in the direction of needletravel, the grooves of the bed and the verge being aligned, the spacebetween bed and verge presenting an ungrooved surface offset fromalignment with the bottoms of the aligned grooves, and a needle having ashank of which a part between the yarn-receiving portion and the buttportion protrudes beyond the corresponding needle bed groove when theneedle is furthest retracted in the knitting operation, and thedimensions of the verge and the Spacing thereof from the bed being suchthat said protruding needle shank part also never enters thecorresponding verge groove in the knitting operation.

2. An independent needle knitting machine and needles therein inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the needle is of the hook and latchtype.

3. An independent needle knitting machine and needles therein, inaccordance with claim 1, wherein each of such needles has an elevatedportion back of the yarn receiving part, that in the knitting operationrides over the top of the verge.

4. An independent needle knitting machine and knitting needles therein,in accordance with claim 1, wherein the said needle grooves are in thecylinder of the knitting machine.

5. An independent needle knitting machine and knitting needles therein,in accordance with claim 1, wherein the said needle grooves are in thedial of the knitting machine.

avaasas 6. In a knitting machine, a needle carrier having sideby-sideneedle receiving grooves, each comprising a needle bed portion and aforward verge portion where the yarn is knitted into the fabric by theformation of stitches; independent needles received in said groovesrespectively and provided with butts to be acted upon by knitting camshaving formations to engage the butts of the needles and to advance theknitting portion of the needles to the verge portion, there to receivethe yarn, and then to withdraw said knitting portion to cast off thestitches into the forming fabric; the verge portion of each needlegroove being spaced lengthwise from the needle bed portion thereof by anintermediate portion, the said intervening portion being sufficientlyprolonged so that a portion of the stern of each needle does not, in theknitting operation, enter either the verge portion or the needle bedportion of its groove, thereby preventing the carrying of oil or dirtfrom the needle bed portion to the verge portion of each groove and thespreading of oil or dirt throughout the length of the verge portion ontothe forming fabric.

7. In a knitting machine, a needle carrier having sideby-side needlereceiving grooves, each comprising a needle bed portion and a forwardverge portion Where the yarn is knitted into the fabric by the formationof stitches; independent needles received in said grooves respectivelyand provided with butts to be acted upon by knitting cams havingformations to engage the butts of the needles and to advance theknitting portion of the needles to the verge portion, there to receivethe yarn, and then to withdraw said knitting portion to cast off thestitches into the forming fabric; the verge portion of each needlegroove being spaced lengthwise from the needle bed portion thereof by anintermediate portion that is of slightly greater depth than the vergeportion and the needle bed portion, the said intervening portion that isof slightly greater depth being sufliciently prolonged so that a portionof the stem of each needle does not, in the knitting operation, entereither the verge portion or the needle bed portion of its groove,thereby preventing the carrying of oil or dirt from the needle bedportion to the verge portion of each groove and the spreading of oil ordirt throughout the length of the verge portion and onto the formingfabric.

8. In a dial type of knitting machine, a needle cylinder and aco-operating needle dial having radially extending needle receivinggrooves, each of said grooves including a needle bed portion and aforward verge portion where the yarn is knitted into a fabric by theformation of stitches; independent dial needles received in said needlegrooves respectively and provided with knitting portions including yarnreceiving formations and with butts to be acted upon by knitting camshaving formations to engage the butts of said dial needles and toadvance the knitting portion of the needles to the verge portion, thereto receive the yarn in said formations and then to withdraw saidknitting portion to cast off the stitches into the forming fabric; theverge portion of each dial needle groove being spaced lengthwise fromthe needle bed portion thereof by an intermediate recess that is ofslightly greater depth than the said verge groove portion and the saidneedle bed groove portion; each of said dial needles being provided withan elevated portion that is spaced from the yarn receiving formation ofsuch needle by a short stem portion that, when the needle is positionedin its said groove, is in contact with the bottom of said groove; thesaid elevated portion being sufiiciently elevated to ride in actionabove the top of the verge of such dial needle groove.

9. A dial type of knitting machine in accordance with claim 8, whereinthe said stem portion of each dial needle is of such extent that whensuch dial needle is moved forward to clearing position, the back face ofsuch stern portion will rest near the edge of said verge but will neverrest beyond such verge edge.

10. A dial type of knitting machine in accordance with claim 8, whereinthe length of the said slightly deeper portion of each dial needlegroove is such that inthe knitting operation the needle butt of the dialneedle in such groove will not move outward beyond the forward edge ofthe needle bed portion of its dial needle groove, and the said stem ofsuch dial needle will not enter the said needle bed portion of such dialneedle groove.

11. In a dial needle type of circular, independent needle knittingmachine, a dial having radially extending needle grooves each providedwith a verge portion at its outer end and spaced therefrom a needle bedportion at its inner end, and independent needles positioned in saidneedle grooves and provided with needle stems back of the yarn receivingfront end formations, the needles being so shaped with elevated portionsdirectly in the rear of their stem portions and the spacing of the vergeportions from the needle bed portions of the needle grooves being such,and the length of the needles being so correlated to the spacing of theverge portions from the needle bed portions of the needle grooves, thatthe butts of the needles do not in the knitting operation move beyondthe forward edge of the needle beds and the stern portions of theneedles do not enter the said needle beds, and the portions of theneedles in the rear of the stem portions ride above the tops of theverge portions.

12. In an independent-needle knitting machine having a needle bed andverge grooved in line, with the corresponding bed and verge groovesspaced apart lengthwise thereof, a shanked needle having a portion ofthe shank that protrudes beyond the needle bed in the maximum retractedposition of the needle therein and having a hook portion receivable inthe verge, the dimensioning and location of the verge relative to thebed and to the protrudable portion of the needle being such that saidprotrudable portion of the needle does not enter the verge groove in theknitting operation of the machine, whereby the needle is afforded aportion of shank which normally enters neither the bed nor the verge.

13. For an independent-needle knitting machine having a needle bed andassociated verge with aligned grooves and having an ungrooved surfaceseparating the bed and verge and offset from alignment with the bottomsof the aligned bed and verge grooves, a knitting needle having ayarn-receiving portion operable in a verge groove, a butt portionoperable in the corresponding bed groove and an intermediate shankconnecting said portions and itself having a portion which in thefurthest retracted needle position protrudes clear of the bed groove andin the furthest advanced needle position remains clear of the associatedverge groove.

14. In an independent-needle knitting machine, a grooved needle bed, agrooved verge spaced from the needle bed in the direction of needletravel, the grooves of the bed and the verge being aligned, the spacebetween bed and verge presenting an ungrooved surface oifset fromalignment with the bottoms of the aligned grooves, a knitting needlehaving a yarn-receiving portion operable in a verge groove, a buttportion operable in the corresponding bed groove and an intermediateshank connecting said portions, the space between corresponding bed andverge grooves being of greater extent in the direction of needle motionthan the operating stroke of the needle whereby a portion of the needleshank remains at all times between the adjacent ends of the alignedgrooves and never enters either of them.

15. In an independent-needle knitting machine, a grooved needle bed, agrooved verge spaced from the needle bed in the direction of needletravel, the grooves of the bed and the verge being aligned, the spacebetween bed and verge presenting an ungrooved surface offset fromalignment with the bottoms of the aligned grooves, a knitting needlehaving a yarn-receiving portion operable in a verge groove, a buttportion operable in the corresponding bed groove and an intermediateshank connecting said portions, a portion of the needle shank bridgingsaid ungrooved surface being offset from the bearing portions of theneedle so as to be spaced from said surface, and said offsetintermediate portion of the needle being of a length greater than theoperating stroke of the needle whereby no part of the needle portionwhich operates in the needle bed ever enters the verge and no part ofthe needle portion which operates in the verge ever enters the needlebed.

Adgate Oct. 3, 1882 Williams Oct. 7, 1902 8 Scott May 26, Williams Oct.27, Wildrnan Feb. 20, Kunau Aug. 16, Mills Mar. 3, Koppel Apr. 30, AllenJune 17, Lawson Sept. 12,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain July 6,

